Chris Ashton may have skinned Drew Mitchell but the Wallaby is the better winger

Funny game, rugby. In November Chris Ashton teared down the right wing at Twickenham leaving Drew Mitchell in his wake for a score that has gone into English rugby folklore.

What followed was a simple bit of analysis from most – Ashton scored therefore he must be the better winger. Having watched both the Waratahs versus the Reds in Super Rugby and England versus France in the Six Nations on Saturday I think the record needs amending.

Mitchell, in tandem with the ever-improving Kurtley Beale, was superb against his old team. Every time he got his hands on the ball he made yards and he appears to be even quicker than he was at the World Cup four years ago.

He tracked back well in defence and gave the Waratahs a safety blanket in the form of his left boot for clearances.

But the pivotal moment for me came in the first half when the Waratahs were awarded a penalty. Beale took a quick tap, accelerated through a gap, threw a one-two with Ben Mowen before throwing a perfect pass to an on-rushing Mitchell who got himself in the perfect position before gassing over in the corner for a score. (Watch video here)

Nothing flash about it. Simple, quick, effective and most importantly – ruthless. Could you see England doing this against a top defence? I don’t think so.

Ashton had his moment on Saturday in the 71st minute when he took an inside ball from Wilkinson to go searing through a huge gap. (Watch video here)

But when he got one-on-one with Clerc he froze, ignoring Danny Care on his right shoulder and throwing a speculative pass to Mark Cueto. The pass didn’t find him and the chance went begging. Great wingers make the right call in those scenarios.

A cursory look at the statistics shows that for all his running off the ball Ashton is not nearly as busy as Mitchell during a game.